Nandita Das chronicles the life of Manto
The vivisection of the Indian subcontinent has torn asunder the life of millions including some of the finest writers from the region. Among them is critically-acclaimed Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto. But Nandita Das's coming feature film 'Manto', says the actor-director, is not a biopic in its conventional sense as it chronicles just four turbulent years of the author's life before and after Partition.
"A feature film is not a documentary so 'Manto', featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the title role, contains nuances which some may notice, some may not. I tried to weave a story set in the period between 1946 and 1950, a tumultuous phase for the two countries as well as Manto," Das said on Wednesday during a session of Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet here. The film is about people and the way they look at humanity in the worst of the situations, she added.
"I tried to be very intimate about the way I showed the events in the film. But not all Partition stories are about big events," she said about her film.
Asked about the reasons behind casting Nawaz in the role of Manto, Das said "I wanted someone who can be very arrogant and selfish at one point of time and extremely vulnerable at another, someone who can portray a range of emotions through eyes," she said.
"We had worked together in 'Firaaq' 10 years ago and he has this amazing ability to get into the skin of a character," she said.
Nawaz said essaying the role of Manto was one of the most challenging tasks in his acting career. He said he delved into the thought process of Manto through his works and tried to imbibe his mannerisms. "I stayed away from modern gadgets and spent time looking for things that was in one way or the other associated with the writer. Since there is no video available of Manto, I could take some liberty. A lot went into the preparation of the film but it was well-planned by the director," he added.
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